The economic crisis and public libraries in Greece. Investigating the threats and challenges via job description

Published date11 June 2018
Date11 June 2018
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LM-08-2017-0077
Pages216-232
AuthorAnna Maria Mouza,Athanasios Taousanis
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion
The economic crisis and public
libraries in Greece
Investigating the threats and challenges
via job description
Anna Maria Mouza and Athanasios Taousanis
Department of Business Administration,
Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Serres, Greece
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Greeces economic crisis on public
librariansobligations.
Design/methodology/approach In total, 43 public library managers completed a questionnaire
regarding 116 librarian responsibilities. Managers evaluated these responsibilities considering their
importance, difficulty, and frequency. Regarding difficulty, a two-way analysis of variance was applied to
examine whether there exists a significant difference among dutiescategories and librariesclassifications,
considering their number of users and materials, and whether the perceived difficulties were connected with
the economic crisis.
Findings The results reveal that public librarians face many difficulties due to workload and increased
responsibilities resulting from the lack of qualified personnel both in library and computer science. Difficulties
also arise from the inability to meet some operational needs because of reduced funding.
Practical implications Contrary to these unfavorable conditions, many new opportunities and challenges
have emerged, including the implementation of new practices and actions (volunteerism, donations,
cooperation with local actors) to effectively cope with the new threats.
Originality/value This is the first time that job description has been recorded and used to outline the
duties of Greeces public librarians. This is particularly useful to develop librariesstrategic planning and to
assist all human resource practices to increase efficiency, especially during the period of financial crisis.
Further specific duties were also proposed to enhance the librarianseffectiveness under the new working
environment, focusing on the required processes for their successful completion.
Keywords Greece, Economic crisis, Public libraries, Job description, Volunteerism, Threats
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Public libraries in Greece fulfill the needs of the citizens, regardless of gender, age, and
economic and social status because they aim to link knowledge with culture. To support this
mission and to meet current and future usersneeds, libraries stock all new information in
both printed and electronic forms.
Each public library is governed by a director and a five-member board of directors
appointed for a term of three years by the minister of public education. The board of
directors ensures the effective use of the property, as it is responsible for financial
management under existing legislation. The main aim is to improve library services.
Furthermore, the board accepts donations and sponsorships and establishes the internal
rules of procedures. The directors also take care of the regular operation of the library, are
responsible for the librariesstrategic development, refer to the previous years finances, and
report the following years provisional accounts. Additionally, they are responsible for
supervising the librarys services and personnel. It is noted that all public employees,
including public librarians, are governed horizontally.
To ensure uniform operation, all public libraries, under the supervision of the relevant
board of directors, have to comply with the rules of procedure. These include the
organization and management of each library collection, provided services, and internal
Library Management
Vol. 39 No. 3/4, 2018
pp. 216-232
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-08-2017-0077
Received 15 August 2017
Revised 19 November 2017
Accepted 22 November 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
216
LM
39,3/4
rules of procedure. The latter mainly refers to the everyday operation of the library such as
working hours, librariansobligations, function of public information centers, and mobile
units, as well as the terms of using the library facilities for events (excluding political ones)
by both internal and external interested parties. It is noted that the rules of procedure
confine the operation of the library, leaving little space for each library to deviate, and
develop a separate strategy for personnel, management, and financial planning.
The funding of public libraries mainly comes from the government budget. However,
these libraries can derive further financial support from endowments, donations, and the
rental of their immovable properties. Additionally, economic support is welcomed from
private and legal persons governed by the private law. Other income sources include
charged services (e.g. conferences, fairs, and exhibitions) although such income is rare.
Nevertheless, despite the autonomy of the board of directors of each library,
the guidelines are provided by a nine-member general board that is appointed by the
ministry of public education. In that sense, the operation of libraries is controlled by
legislation that each library must follow.
1.1 Economic recession
Many of Greeces socioeconomic structures have imposed reforms in response to the economic
crisis, including public libraries. The austerity policy of recent years has considerably reduced
financial support to these structures, thereby changing their management and operating
patterns. With this in mind, many researchers have studied the main effects of the economic
crisis (Giannakopoulos et al., 2014; Kondylis, 2014; Vassilakaki, 2015). The negative effects on
Greeces public libraries include reduced budgets, understaffing, salary reductions, and
restrictions on developing library collections.
In an effort to develop their role in the local community and to upgrade their intellectual
contribution, public libraries support specific actions to reach out to their users and to
cooperate with other local cultural institutions. In this sense, various events are taking place
with the assistance and support of voluntary contributions from citizens and local actors.
Thus, they are facilitating the libraries to provide specific services and programs to
the public. The contribution of several hundred volunteers is also very significant,
particularly during the recent years of the economic crisis. These volunteers fully
participate in the promotion of librariesintellectual activities as trainers, speakers,
processors, and assistants under librariansguidance and supervision. Thus, they enrich,
support and help libraries perform the relevant actions to the maximum possible extent.
These ongoing activities include book presentations, art exhibitions, and historical,
archeological, and other events. Childrens activities include programs and events that aim
to bring children into the world of literature, fairy tales, theater, and creative writing.
Considering the key role of a lending library, the reduction of the number of new
materials and books has undoubtedly caused some downgrading of the institution.
Understanding t he importance of the librarie smain objectives and the difficult conditions
under which they have to operate, many donors provide financial support and materials
and related equipment for libraries to continue functioning properly. Many citizens also
offer a significant volume of books and materials from their personal libraries. These
donations significantly enrich public libraries and support their goal regarding successful
provision of contemporary knowledge. As a result, public libraries in Greece have not
failed to grow; on the con trary, they have inc reased the frequency of their book lending.
This is because there is a growing number of readers who are unable to buy books for
financial reasons. As an alternative, they choose to borrow books from libraries, thereby
strengthening their role and activation in local societies. At the same time, the rise of the
citizenseducational, cultural, and intellectual levels, and the changes that have occurred
because of the economic crisis, have led more and more young people to choose different
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The economic
crisis and
public libraries

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